I sent this email to my mailing list at Binary Freedom (binaryfreedom.info) but I think it also pertains to freeculture and our fight to maintain our fair use right as well as the battle against DRM. Yes, I called the numbers and submitted the forms ; ) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Comrades, Today (Aug. 14) a swarm of activists will descend on the BBC Media Complex. If you are in the UK, you can become a part of the swarm and be the first activist group to ever protest a major TV network over their DRM Policies (correct me if I'm wrong on that one). These protests will become more and more common in the future and they will keep happening in higher frequencies and intensity until DRM is completely abolished. If you want to sign up or get more information, please go to http://www.defectivebydesign.org/iPlayerProtest There will be protests in London and Manchester and you don't need to sign up to attend, it just helps to give the ground troops some warning so they can have plenty of materials. The Swarm of hazmat-donned activists will not only be a force on their own, but they will have the backing of thousands of activists from across the world in over a dozen countries. We need you to be one of those activists and we need to make the BBC feel the heat. But we don't just want a slight warming sensation, we want to bring down the BBC offices. We want to tie up the phone lines, shut down their PO box, and make them reach the space and bandwidth limits on their email accounts. We want the desks of the executives that decided DRM was a good idea to break and crumble under the weight of the petition. We want firings for those who chose DRM and decided to corrupt the BBC. Be that force. Be the force that strikes fear in the hearts and bones of not just BBC executives but of TV executives across the world. Be that force with me today. So maybe asking to tie up the phone lines is a little bit much and that's not what we want. We want to put as much pressure on them as possible while still remaining respectful. If so many people hate iPlayer that their phone lines get tied up, they should realise how important this issue is. Please keep communications with the BBC respectable, and if you receive any interesting responses please send them our way to aid our campaign. (2600denver {at} gmail.com). I am asking you to send a message to each department and if we all make one point of contact the amount of calls, emails, and letters will make the pillars of corruption upon which the BBC's corruption with Microsoft exists crumble into the ground. Talking Points (only if they apply) *1. I am a user of GNU/Linux and as a result I won't be able to use the iPlayer *2. I find it underhanded to choose DRM even though when the public poll was taken, it was overwhelmingly in favor of not using DRM. 3. I find it unacceptable to exclude me from watching BBC content which I have payed for because I do not use Microsoft products. 4. I will stop paying my TV license 5. I am outraged that you have put corporate interests above public interests *6. I have always respected the BBC for its commitment to the public interest however the choice to use DRM in the iPlayer has tainted that image in a immediate and severe way *7. DRM does not work, and it does not work by nature because of the widespread distribution of encryption keys. No DRM scheme has ever been hatched that worked. *8. DRM takes away my fair use and fair dealing rights, which were written into law because of their importance to democracy *9. I will no longer buy the products advertised via iPlayer 10. I will no longer watch the BBC *11. I want the person who decided that only users of Microsoft should be able to view BBC content via iPlayer to be FIRED *12. The iPlayer's use of DRM directly contradicts the BBC Charter 13. I have signed my name to the FreeTheBBC petition at freethebbc.info Of course, it's best to creative and come up with your own talking points. Tell them your story, tell them why YOU don't like DRM. Again, I am calling on you to take five minutes out of your schedule. If everybody on this mailing lists contacts the BBC, the IPlayer and all of it's platform-specific-drm-laden evilness will die. Also, if you are a UK representative please contact your representative and say you don't want your tax money going to iPlayer. Contact Information for the BBC *BBC UK http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/ Complaint by phone 08700 100 222* Complaint by email http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/make_complaint_step1.shtml or by letter: BBC Complaints, PO Box 1922, Glasgow G2 3WT BBC Website technical complaint (Why won't IPlayer work with my GNU/Linux machine?) http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/contactus/bbci_technical.shtml Why won't iPlayer work with my GNU/Linux machine? http://www.bbc.co.uk/feedback/bbci_comment.shtml Comments on broadband services (like iPlayer) http://www.bbc.co.uk/feedback/broadband_comment.shtml *BBC America http://viewerrelations.bbcamerica.com/ 1-859-342-4070 P.O. Box 6266, Florence, KY 41022-6266 *BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/newswatch/ukfs/hi/newsid_4030000/newsid_4032600/4032695.stm Website Feedback (how come iPlayer doesn't work with GNU/Linux?) http://news.bbc.co.uk/newswatch/ukfs/hi/newsid_3990000/newsid_3993900/3993909.stm Website Feedback (technical) (how come iPlayer doesn't work with GNU/Linux?) http://news.bbc.co.uk/newswatch/ukfs/hi/newsid_3990000/newsid_3993900/3993913.stm File a complaint http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/make_complaint_step1n.shtml *BBC World http://www.bbcworld.com/Pages/ContactUsDepartments.aspx Telephone: +44 (0)20 8433 2221 (Weekdays 0930-1730 UK Time) Fax: +44 (0)20 8433 3040 Post: BBC World Customer Relations, P O Box 5040, London W12 0ZY, United Kingdom http://www.bbcworldpanel.com/ Also, don't forget to mention freethebbc.info and the BBC Corrupted report issued by DefectiveByDesign at http://defectivebydesign.org/blog/BBCcorrupted If you have an account on digg.com, please digg this story (right below the blog post with the digg icon)! We will win. In Solidarity, Comrade Ringo Kamens _______________________________________________ Discuss mailing list [email protected] http://freeculture.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/discuss
